History Comicbook / LexLuthorManOfSteel

An AlternateCharacterInterpretation of Comicbook/{{Superman}}'s arch-nemesis, ''Lex Luthor: Man of Steel'' was first published in 2005 by Creator/DCComics. It's a bit of a departure from other stories about Luthor, which up until then (and indeed for [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths twenty years previous]]) had shown him as little more than an unrepentant jerk who just wanted to kill Superman. It [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructs]] Superman's ArchEnemy in subtle ways, or at least speaks to humanist traits the character had taken on since about 2000. First is this: when other comics on the stands in 2005 were about Luthor heading up a [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis large]] LegionOfDoom and manipulating [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Superboy]] ForTheEvulz, an empathetic view into the mind of Lex was seen as an odd thing, though not totally unwelcomed; it could be argued the story showed just how evil Luthor could be. As it turns out, the story was ''very'' well-received.

An AlternateCharacterInterpretation of Comicbook/{{Superman}}'s arch-nemesis, ''Lex Luthor: Man of Steel'' was first published in 2005 by Creator/DCComics. It's a bit of a departure from other stories about Luthor, which up until then (and indeed for [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths twenty years previous]]) had shown him as little more than an unrepentant jerk who just wanted to kill Superman. It [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructs]] Superman's ArchEnemy in subtle ways, or at least speaks to humanist traits the character had taken on since about 2000. First is this: when other comics on the stands in 2005 were about Luthor heading up a [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis large]] LegionOfDoom and manipulating [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Superboy]] ForTheEvulz, an empathic view into the mind of Lex was seen as an odd thing, though not totally unwelcomed; it could be argued the story showed just how evil Luthor could be. As it turns out, the story was ''very'' well-received.

* ShutUpHannibal: Superman's only line throughout the miniseries. It reinforces the point that even though we've seen a more human, benevolent side to Lex than normal and he's very eloquent and impassioned in delivering his rant, he's still the ''bad guy''. Lex's resulting VillainousBreakdown suggests that at some level, ''he knows this.''

->''"Those red eyes, I'm sure they look right through me, like I am nothing more than a nuisance. But when I see Superman you? I see something no man can ever be. I see the end. The end of our potential. The end of our achievements. The end of our dreams. You are my nightmare."''

->''"Those [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]], I'm sure they look right through me, like I am nothing more than a nuisance. But when I see [[Franchise/{{Superman}} you]]? I see something no man can ever be. I see the end. The end of our potential. The end of our achievements. The end of our dreams. You are my nightmare."''

Recently re-released and given the more laconic yet intimidating title ''[[http://dccomics.com/dcu/graphic_novels/?gn=15388 Luthor]]''. Works nicely as a companion piece to Azzarello's later work, ''ComicBook/{{Joker}}'': even the trade dress, [[UsefulNotes/{{Fonts}} typefaces]], and titles (in both incarnations; ''Lex Luthor: Man of Steel''/''Joker: The Dark Knight'' and ''Luthor''/''Joker'') play up the differences between these two characters. Creator/FrankMiller might be proud.

--> '''Lex Luthor'''

* LetsYouAndHimFight: At one point, Superman and Batman come to blows over a chunk of green kryptonite that Luthor has given to Bruce Wayne. Although there's little context and we don't hear any dialogue between the two, it's suggested that Superman is either under some kind of MindControl, is a little bit miffed about Batman going behind his back and accepting the only thing that can kill him for whatever reason (and accepted it from ''Superman's arch-nemesis'', of all people), or a bit of both. An alternative interpretation, given the implied ContinuityCameo of Poison Ivy in earlier pages, is that ''Batman'' is the one under the influence of MindControl, and Superman is in fact trying to calm him down or isn't even there.

* VillainousValor: Superman is basically unstoppable whenever he appears. Of course, he's only the 'villain' from [[PerspectiveFlip Luthor's perspective]], but still.

* XanatosGambit: It's strongly hinted that Lex is behind [[spoiler: the bombing of the daycare]] and that his plan was to make Metropolis turn against Superman because [[spoiler: [[BatmanGambit he knew Superman would refuse to kill the bomber]].]] Plus, [[spoiler: the daycare center that was destroyed in the explosion triggered by Toyman just "happened" to be the same one used by the family of a prominent scientist used by Luthor in the construction of Hope, and the scientist dies in the blast along with his entire family.]] One might be given to suspect that Luthor, not one for loose ends, planned it that way...

* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler: Whoever bombed the jewellery store didn't know or care that it was next to a daycare centre and ended up killing over a hundred people, more than seventy of whom were young children. Toyman gets the blame for this but desperately denies planting the bomb, even in private to himself. It is strongly implied that Lex was responsible and that the daycare centre was even the actual target. His {{mook}}, who is willing to at least threaten to hurt somebody's family, [[EvenEvilHasStandards is appalled and makes no secret that he blames Lex]] for the attack (and is seemingly murdered on the orders of Lex as well).]]
** [[spoiler: It is pretty much shown that it was Lex who caused the explosion, as Winslow received a package that said it contained plastic narcotics (as in something that would explode and create a knockout gas) from who he thought was Orr, but when he tells Orr about it, Orr is confused. So it is likely that Lex arranged for the package to be delivered, and that it contained plastic explosives (C4 or something similar), not plastic narcotics.]]

* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler: Whoever bombed the jewellery store didn't know or care that it was next to a daycare centre and ended up killing over a hundred people, more than seventy of whom were young children. Toyman gets the blame for this but desperately denies planting the bomb, even in private to himself. It is strongly implied that Lex was responsible and that the daycare centre was even the actual target. His {{mook}}, who is willing to at least threaten to hurt somebody's family, is appalled and makes no secret that he blames Lex for the attack (and is seemingly murdered on the orders of Lex as well).]]

* KickTheDog: If read attentively, it's seen that Lex does this constantly, undoing his good deeds. A good example of this is when [[spoiler: Lex, through Orr and subtly himself, threatens the family of one of his leading partners, who disagrees with Lex's suggestions. While Orr, the man hired by Luthor, intimidates this partner under the roof, ready to kill...]]

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Depending on [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation how you choose to interpret who's behind the events of the story]]. [[spoiler: If you believe that Toyman was behind the destruction of the jewelers / daycare center all on his own, then it's Luthor. If you believe that Luthor knew all along what was going down and in fact orchestrated it, then it's Toyman and Orr.]] The text would leans more towards the latter interpretation of events than the former.

* DoubleMeaning: In the last issue, Luthor's internal monologue talks about hope in the face of the unstoppable, and says that "hope is what makes us human". The final line of the comic is "I am a man. I hope." which could be taken both as Luthor saying that he continues to have hope because that's what it is to be human, or that his actions have driven him to question his own humanity.

* ShutUpHannibal: Superman's only line throughout the miniseries. It reinforces the point that even though we've seen a more human, benevolent side to Lex than normal and he's very eloquent and impassioned in delivering his rant, he's still the ''bad guy''. It also hammers home the fact, that despite however benevolent Lex has presented himself, he is ultimately nothing more than a self-deluding insane hypocritical villain. Which is confirmed by Lex's VillainousBreakdown, showing that at some level, ''he knows this.''

* ShutUpHannibal: Superman's only line throughout the miniseries. It reinforces the point that even though we've seen a more human, benevolent side to Lex than normal and he's very eloquent and impassioned in delivering his rant, he's still the ''bad guy''.

* SympathyForTheDevil: An ambiguous example. In their final encounter, Superman as ever looks like he's barely restraining himself from attacking Luthor and reducing him to a smear on the wall for the most part, until Lex delivers his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech about how [[spoiler:everyone in Metropolis wanted to see Toyman killed]]. For one panel, Superman looks at Luthor with a sad expression which suggests that either Luthor's words have touched a nerve, or that Superman for a moment actually pities Luthor for his nihilistic view of the world.

** Both initially appear to be deconstructing the superhero, only to turn it around and end up revealing exactly how monstrous the villain is and why we shouldn't trust them at all. As an example, both works climax in a confrontation between villain and hero in which the villain launches into a lengthy and deconstructive "TheReasonYouSuck" Speech about how inadequate the hero is, only for the hero to respond with a brief ShutUpHannibal statement (two sentences for Superman, three words for Batman) that not only refutes everything the villain has tried to claim about the hero, but turns it back on the villain in such a way that drives them to a VillainousBreakdown.

An AlternateCharacterInterpretation of Comicbook/{{Superman}}'s arch-nemesis, ''Lex Luthor: Man of Steel'' was first published in 2005 by Creator/DCComics. It's a bit of a departure from other stories about Luthor, which up until then (and indeed for [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths twenty years previous]]) had shown him as little more than an unrepentant jerk who just wanted to kill Superman. It [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructs]] Superman's ArchEnemy in subtle ways, or at least speaks to humanist traits the character had taken on since about 2000. First is this: when other comics on the stands in 2005 were about Luthor heading up a [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis large]] LegionOfDoom and manipulating [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Superboy]] ForTheEvulz, an empathic view into the mind of Lex was seen as an odd thing, though not totally unwelcomed. As it turns out, the story was ''very'' well-received.

And yet, there is one man who can see what a threat the alien truly represents, one ''man'' who is willing to stand against the being who has been [[PhysicalGod compared with God]]: SelfDemonstrating/LexLuthor. The battle will be ugly, but the truth shall prevail.

* KickTheDog: If read attentively, it's seen that Lex does this constantly, undoing his good deeds. An good example of this is when [[spoiler: Lex, through Orr and subtly himself, threatens the family of one of his leading partners, who disagrees with Lex's suggestions. While Orr, the man hired by Luthor, intimidates this partner under the roof, ready to kill...]]

* {{Hypocrite}}: For most of the book, Luthor presents himself as an idealist and a humanist, championing the finest parts of humanity against a near-godlike alien who threatens to make them redundant. But even leaving aside his various actions throughout the book, many of which may be ambiguously interpreted if the reader is so inclined, his final monologue to Superman is all about how humanity is actually twisted, rotten and malevolent inside, suggesting his supposed veneration of humanity to be a mere act.

* SympathyForTheDevil: An ambiguous example. In their final encounter, Superman as ever looks like he's barely restraining himself from attacking Luthor and reducing him to a smear on the wall for the most part, until Lex delivers his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech about how Superman has been blinding himself to how truly rotten inside humanity is. For one panel, Superman looks at Luthor with a sad expression which suggests that either Luthor's words have touched a nerve, or that Superman for a moment actually pities Luthor for his twisted, nihilistic view of the world and humanity, or both.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Lex thinks of himself as this. [[ItIsAllAboutMe He]] [[TautologicalTemplar isn't.]]

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Lex thinks of himself as this.

* GreenEyedMonster: Lex's lovely assistant gets jealous of the attention he gives Hope.